Extended Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mental health in the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic motivation of Gachsaran pre-university students. The research method was descriptive-correlative. The statistical population of this study included 958 Gachsaran pre-university students. The sample size was determined based on Cochran's formula of 274 people who were selected based on simple random sampling method. Data collection tools included Walland Academic Motivation Questionnaire (1992), Siberia Schering Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (1996) and Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire (1979). Data analysis by means of structural equation modeling method showed that the model has a good fit; As a result, mental health has a mediating role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic motivation of Gachsaran pre-university students. Findings of this study emphasize the importance of strengthening emotional intelligence in order to strengthen mental health and achieve academic achievement of learners.
Introduction
Success and academic achievement in any society indicates the success of the educational system in the field of goal setting and attention to meeting individual needs; Therefore, the educational system can be considered efficient and successful if the academic achievement of its students in different courses has the greatest and highest figures (Talebi Khansari, 2020). In general, motivation for academic achievement as a motivation for progress is an internal force that leads the learner to comprehensively evaluate his performance according to the highest standards, strive for success in performance and enjoy the pleasure that accompanies success in performance (Seif, 2019). Academic motivation is one of the requirements of learning and is a factor that helps the learner to maintain its continuity (Kordloo & Behrangi, 2020). One of the effective factors in academic achievement is emotional intelligence (Hossein Mardi & Hossein Mardi, 2015) and emotional intelligence can be considered as a significant predictor of academic achievement (Fernandez, et al., 2012; MacCann, et. al., 2020; Goh & Kim, 2021). According to Gelman (1995) Emotional intelligence includes a set of emotions, social knowledge and abilities that directs and strengthens the overall strength of the individual in a way that can respond appropriately to environmental factors and pressures (Mohammadi ahmad abadi & Fallahzadeh, 2021).
Self-awareness means being aware of one's mental state and also thinking about it. Conscious people know their values and goals. A sense of self-motivation Extinguishes failures, and anxieties that may discourage one from going on; which means that the helplessness and avoidable failures that each goal brings can be used to progress. Self-control or self-management also indicates a person's ability of adaptability, takeing initiative, desire for success, work conscience, inner confidence, flexibility and a comprehensive attitude to everyone's opinion and harmony with feelings of them. Gelman believes that the social awareness of others will be important in moral decisions and judgments, and that lack of empathy is a fundamental deficiency in emotional intelligence. Considering that there is little research on the role of the relationship between variables present in students; the researcher decided to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic motivation with the mediating role of mental health of Gachsaran pre-university students. On the other hand, today, in spite of profound cultural changes and changes in lifestyles, many adolescents lack the necessary and basic abilities in dealing with life issues, and this harms them in the face of problems and issues of daily life and its requirements. Usually these students are treated unkindly, unloved and punished by others and have low mental health. Therefore, in this research, while examining the relationship between emotional intelligence and students' academic achievement motivation, an attempt is made to answer the question of whether mental health has a positive role in this relationship.
Theoretical framework
Relationship management, also called social skills, is the ability to listen to the emotions and feelings of others, the skill of listening to the feelings of others when people have emotions and feelings and need to be listened (Amiri, 2019). Numerous studies have shown a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement (Mohammadi Molod & Zavvar, 2020). Loghmanpour Zarrini et al. (2020) in a study on students of Mazandaran Technical and Vocational University showed that strengthening emotional intelligence in students increases their motivation for academic achievement (LoghmanpourZarini, et al., 2020). Pekran et al. (2011) in a study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and motivation for academic achievement in students, according to which, the students who had higher emotional intelligence, rarely had low grades and allowed absences, which indicates a high level of academic motivation among them (Pekrun, et al., 2011). The importance of emotional intelligence is such that it is considered one of the necessary skills to manage daily stress, which improves mental health (Rosenstein & Stark, 2015). Research on the relationship between mental health and academic motivation has shown that mental health is effective on motivation for academic achievement (Mirkamali, et al., 2015). A study by Azimpour et al. (2020) on 167 first-year university students showed that academic performance was positively related to psychological well-being and negatively related to depression and social anxiety (Azimpour, et al., 2020). Pali & Azani study (2020) on elementary school students showed that there is a relationship between happiness and academic motivation (Pali & Ezani, 2020).
Methodology
This research is descriptive, because it has described the conditions and variables under consideration. Also it is correlative, because the present study has investigated and determined the relationship between the variables of mental health, emotional intelligence and academic motivation. The statistical population of this study included 958 Gachsaran pre-university students. The sample size was determined based on Cochran's formula of 274 people who were selected based on simple random sampling method. Data collection tool was three standard questionnaires. In this study, Walland Academic Motivation Questionnaire, Siberia Schering Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (1996) and Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire were used to collect information. In order to analyze the collected data, the structural equation modeling method was used by LISREL statistical software.
Discussion and Results
The final structural equation model has been used to assess the mediating role of mental health in the relationship between emotional intelligence and Gachsaran pre-university academic motivation. Since the root mean index of the mean squared is approximately 0.039, the model has a good fit. In order to investigate the mediating effect of mental health in the hypothesis under discussion, the direct effect of the two structures with the indirect effect in the case of involving the mediating variable should be considered so that if the effect increases, the mediating effect can be considered acceptable. In the present hypothesis, the effect is equal to 0.49. The indirect effect in the presence of a mediating variable is 0.567. Due to the fact that the effect of direct path is less than the effect of indirect path, the existence of mediator variable increases the effect, and the role of mediator in the present hypothesis is confirmed.
Conclusion
The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mental health in the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic motivation of Gachsaran pre-university students. Findings of this study showed that the direct effect of emotional intelligence on academic motivation is 0.49 and significant. This finding was consistent with the study of Loghmanpour Zarini.et al. (2020) and Pekrun et al. (2011) which showed that there is a correlation between emotional intelligence and motivation for academic achievement. This finding was also in line with the study of Mohammadi Molod and Zavvar (2020) that there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. In explaining this finding, it can be noted that emotional intelligence can be a good ground for creating a favorable environment for effective learning and communication, through which people can freely express their needs and expectations for support from others. Basically, emotional intelligence is manifested in communication. Emotional abilities play an important role in identifying appropriate emotional responses when confronted with everyday academic events, and create a positive attitude about academic events and issues. Findings of this study also showed that the effect of mental health on academic motivation is -0.86 and significant. It also showed that the effect of emotional intelligence on mental health is -0.66. This finding was in line with the study of Sungur and Kahraman (2011), Gross (2015), Gross and Jazaieri (2014) and Hides et al. (2019) who emphasized the role of emotion and its regulation in the development of mental disorders. In explaining this finding, it is worth mentioning that people who perform well in regulating their emotions have more social support and a sense of satisfaction, and this support can play an important protective role against depression, anxiety and other psychological problems. Students with higher emotional intelligence have a more positive outlook on life, are more optimistic than others, are more satisfied, and score lower on the symptoms of mental disorders. In a general conclusion, the present study showed that the indirect effect of emotional intelligence on academic motivation in the presence of the mediating variable of mental health is 0.576 and due to the lower effect of the direct path than the indirect path, the mediating variable increases the effect, and the mediating role in the present hypothesis is confirmed. As a result, mental health has a mediating role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic motivation of Gachsaran pre-university students. The results of the present study emphasize the importance of creating and increasing students' academic motivation and the educational system can use the existing potentials and flourish the dimensions of emotional intelligence and mental health of students to help them improve their academic status and academic performance.